About
Jamie Go Home was inspired by the decision to film the television programme ‘Jamie’s Ministry of Food’ in my home town of Rotherham.
I believe that this show and the twisted logic behind it are an example of everything that is wrong with Britain in 2008.
My aim is to speak out against celebrity worship, the nanny state, corporate greed, media manipulation, regional stereotyping, cultural elitism and hypocrisy.
Rotherham is a great place; full of warm, intelligent people. The town has a proud industrial history and a tradition of political radicalism.
You don’t hear much positive about the town these days. Our traditional industries were destroyed in the Thatcher era and the only time we make an impression on the national consciousness – it’s all bad. Rotherham has been held up as the teen pregnancy capital, the place that elects fascists and the home of our most recent star- the junkie Mum who won’t stop using.
The abiding image for most outsiders is dinner hour at Rawmarsh Comp. Mums giving hot food to their kids who weren’t allowed out. Another view- the one held by most of the media- portrayed a bunch of stupid, Northern birds force feeding chips to their no good chav scum offspring.
The media hate fest was inspired by Jamie’s School Dinners. In the TV show, Jamie Oliver had a half arsed idea to give kids crap food that they wouldn’t eat at school. As he was a celebrity- it was compulsory for everyone to get behind this or you were officially a child abuser of Austrian proportions. The government threw their weight behind the scheme as they were terrified of not looking good for five minutes on the telly. This marriage made in Heaven was sealed with the slightly chubby Jamie and the clinically obese Charles Clarke agreeing that the little people must do as they say to stay healthy. Everyone patted each other on the back as school dinner take up went into freefall and Monster Munch butties became the packed lunch de jour.
The Jamie brand had further success by telling poor people that they shouldn’t eat the protein rich and good for you supermarket chicken. For reasons I can’t get my head round- we were told it is better to kill a creature that is having a great life than one that is miserable.
All the while- the forces of darkness have had the image of Rawmarsh Comp in their minds. The reaction it got in their metropolitan haven. The sight of those poor, wretched, misguided simpletons in their godforsaken post industrial Hell. Let’s dig it back up and make gravy guys.
“Jamie’s Ministry of Food” was born. Oliver’s press for the show states:
“Millions of people up and down the country are really busy, they’re on tight budgets, and no-one has bothered to teach them how to cook. It’s no wonder that the last thing they want to do at the end of the day is cook a meal from scratch. If we can get people in one town cooking, I want to establish a blueprint that can get people cooking across the whole country this year,”
What a great guy. Eh? “Jamie’s Ministry of Food” has set up command HQ in All Saints’ Square. This throwback to the days of persecution and scorn under the banner of missionary work has targeted Rotherham as ground zero in the fight against obesity. Don’t let the stat’s get in the way of a good story guys.
The bubbly Mockney’s words show the mindset he is attacking the problem from.
“No-one has bothered to teach them how to cook”.
“The last thing they want to do is cook a meal from scratch.”
Ignorant, lazy – that’s us is it Jamie? The message is- if he can get the scum in that Northern dump cooking- there may be hope for the rest of us. Basically, if you live in Rotherham, Jamie Oliver says your Mam is a slag.
The problems this town has are poverty, the destruction of communities and abysmal local government. Rotherham has been left behind by developments in other similar towns. The council are more than willing to do anything to distract from their failure- with celeb’ endorsements a favoured ruse. They will bend over to let Jamie enter the same way they did for Dolly Parton and her ludicrous book scheme last year.
I believe that this reality TV show will do nothing to improve the health and well being of the people of Rotherham. Further- I believe that the patronising ethos of the show will damage the reputation of the town even further. I would appeal to people not to collaborate- but realise that the urge to get on the telly is too great for some people.
I will use this blog to point out the hypocrisy and hate on which this show is built. To identify the real issues and the real villains responsible for propping them up. If they think they can get away with kicking Rotherham while it’s down- they’re going to get a nasty blow to the testicles. Not on my watch finger sucker.
You may think I’m wrong. If you do; close your eyes and visualise that lovely Fergie woman helping those poor people in Hull. Then join the fight back.
People of Rotherham Arise
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15 comments so far
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hiya just wanted to say
r u sum kind of stalker or something?
a mean lets face it you must have nothing better to do really if your that sad enough to make up this wank website!!!
you aint even big enough to write your name talk about pathetic
GROW UP
jamies a lovevly bloke and your only jelous coz you aint involved coz your probly one of the scrubbers of rotherham yourself!
hear hear rachael another saddo in the world jelous aint the word
yeah yo momma probably fed you thru the school bars when u were young; that’s why ur so stupid!
I am sure it can’t be that bad mate.
My friend Jo couldn’t get to the end of the program seeing those kids being fed with junk and my friend Kelly didn’t like it either. I am not passionate about cooking and don’t like Tathcher either but can tell you that things can be improved. I also think that Jamie is slightly overweighted but I see someone that is doing something. Not a media fan though.
Just to say that 6 years ago I was asked to do a day of cookery demos in Rawmarsh comprehensive – for feeder primaries, as a part of the launch of a website (Surf4health). I could not have completed the sessions without the willing help (washing up) of Rotherham parents. It was an amazing day and the kids who particpiated, seemed to enjoy it.I am sad that the Surf4health project seems to have ended (short term funding I presume). I spend my time encouraging kids to cook (in state primary schools) because I believe that cooking with raw ingredients is not only the route to a healthier diet but can be fun as well.Sadly, some parents have lost the skills to pass on but I would never want to burden these people (easpecially the less affluent) with another ‘can’t do’ problem. I believe that the school (simple nutrition and simple cookery skills on the primary school curriculum) is the answer. This means policy change and MONEY. I have to enthuse about JO because the kids I come across, hero worhsip him and this makes my task (encouraging them to cook and usually see the sugar,salt and fat content of what they will then guzzle) so much easier. Jamie has made cookery cool. My expeirence in Rotherham albeit six years ago was of folk who were happy to give me support – even if the washing up facilites were pretty tricky!
Its not just JO though is it? Fearnley (ETON ) Whittingstall has been doing this berate the working class angle for awhile now …give that bastard some stick too !!!! Oi Oliver ..****off !
How pathetic and negative this entire blog is!
You should get off your lazy and cynical arse and do something with your life… Like cooking!
You probably live on prawn cocktail crisps!
Wanker!
This is an excellent piece of work. The ‘factual’ programming coming out from Channel 4 is of an appalling standard, and the I’m glad to see someone stand up against the likes of Oliver and McKeith. Even the biggest Oliver fanboy must realise that he must face criticism. He gives us specific percentages about the content of packed lunches, but these figures appear with no evidence. Thats not proper, it makes him look liking hes making figures up on the spot then passing them off as fact.
Thank you for putting this blog together. It is rare to see someone stand up and call out the hypocrisy of programme makers.
The makers of MoF and Oliver need to understand that you don’t hate people into changing any aspect of their lives for the better. All that results is an undermining of well being. Point and mock at the poor and fat and all that will happen is that they feel worse about life. Punishment by humiliation teaches nothing. The whole issue is far more complex than the likes of Oliver and Mckeith imagine or any of their career serving solutions suggest.
MoF is about hate, mockery and humiliation of ordinary people. It is nothing to do with education or cooking.
Has anyone else noticied the inordinate amount of misogeny in MoF? It seems that it’s mainly the female participants who are lashed under the mocking, fat tongue of Oliver.
His food is pretty grim too. For all his ill informed banging on about obesity and healthy eating, his food seems to rely on pasta and oil (not to mention it all tasting of basil and tomatoes) Overloading with carbohydrates and fats (olive oil has as much fat as butter) is not the way to go if you want to eat well.
Props to the author of this blog!
Kudos to the creator of this blog. Ignore the people who call you names, they’re not worth bothering with.
I’ve only just become aware of Jamie’s antics in Rotherham through an article in The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/21/oliver-localgovernment).
The ‘drop-in’ cooking centre is clearly a ludicrous idea (to anyone with some degree of intellect) and to be spending £100,000 on its upkeep is no less than an insult to the people of Rotherham.
I am not a fan of Jamie Oliver; not just because of his baffling/annoying/irritating ‘mockney’ accent (he went to public school didn’t he?), but because he is simply exploiting people to make millions upon millions of pounds.
If Mr Oliver really cared about saving the people of Britain from obesity hell, then surely he would do all this for free (yes free, why not?) and not pocket the proceeds of his book.
To me he is just a business man who disguises himself as some sort of culinary saint and loves the sound of his own voice, but sadly he blends rather well into the selfish, capitalist society we live in today.
Jamie go home.
Congratualtions on a telling some unwanted home truths. You should be the one getting an MBE, your blog is very necassary I hope you keep it up.
IMHO I’m sure Jamie is a really nice guy and I have no doubt he has the best of intentions, ala the road to hell, but his primary motivation is to increase the funds of Mr J Oliver’s bank account. He’s selling stuff for his profit.
Not a Rotherham resident, but I think the whole programme is awful. Exploitation tv, and full of hypocrisy from JO. I have only seen 2 episodes as it annoyed me, but like Jane I wasn’t that impressed by the recipes – maybe that got better.
Firstyly, regarding the the accusation that the programme made all people from rotherham look stupid. The programme is aimed at people who have never cooked and cannot cook. There the people on this show did look stupid to those of us who can and do. That doesnt make people from rotherham look stupid. What was he going to do, have people on the show from rotherham who could cook?…that really defeats the object of the show all together.
This is a great website. Too many of these reality shows on C4 are nothing more than ‘chav porn’ for the middle classes. These programmes are made by and for the middle classes.
Jamie’s idea is as useless as other schemes that are already running up and down the country aimed at improving the lot of the ‘poor and unfortunate’ such as family learning and sure start, which actually only attract…..middle class people!
If his half-baked, half-arsed scheme comes to fruition it won’t be full of the families who actually need help but those who really do not.
The government and councils should not waste their time and money on Jamie and C4. Invest it wisely in sports, activities, support networks and education which will actually help address problems such as obesity. Rather than a glorified stunt to sell Jamie’s cookbook this Christmas.
I only wish the author of this site, who I only came across due to an article in the Guardian, would make themselves known so he or she can be congratulated on a great blog on a programme that needs to be open to more public scrutiny and debate.
It’s not difficult to work out that this blog is simply another part of Mr Olivers publicity machine and, I bet, a really chubby one.